Public lands: grazing leases.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and State Lands Commission to lease certain lands for specified purposes, including agricultural purposes and grazing, as specified. This bill would require that a management plan for an area to be leased pursuant to certain of those leases include detailed habitat objectives that must be achieved and maintained by the lessee and set minimum requirements for monitoring to ensure those objectives are met, or that the lease specify minimum agricultural and animal husbandry practices to ensure the protection of ecological resources, as specified. The bill would require those agencies, in issuing certain of those leases, to give preference to certain farmers and ranchers and other applicants. The bill would prohibit certain of those leases from being for a period of less than 5 years, except as specified, and from being for a period of more than 20 years. The bill would require those agencies, upon the expiration of a grazing lease, to offer a subsequent grazing lease for those lands to the lessee if the agency plans to sell another grazing lease for those lands and the lessee has substantially complied with all terms of the expiring grazing lease. The bill would also change certain references from "grazing permits" to "grazing leases." The bill would expressly authorize those agencies to lease certain of those lands for grazing to mitigate the risks of wildland fire, as specified.